Atomic Habits for Creatives - How to Stay Motivated And Productive As An Artist
Atomic Habits by James Clear.
If you're anything like me, and you love to be creative and express yourself through your art, or if you want to make art full-time, you probably have heard how vital consistent practice is. But also, if you are anything like me, you know that it can be tough to stay motivated to do something consistently, even if it is something you love doing.
I used to struggle with this a lot, and I still do sometimes, but over the years, through experimenting and reading books from people who are much more disciplined than I am, I have found some things that help me to stay on track.
One of the most impactful things I have done is to read the book "Atomic Habits" by James Clear. In the book, he talks about how small changes in our habits can lead to significant results over time. He also talks about how our environment and the people around us play a huge role in our habits and how to change them.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who struggles with motivation or consistency or wants to learn more about how habits work and how to change them.
But if you're not ready to read the book just yet, here is a summary of my 5 favourite strategies from the book Atomic Habits that have helped me to stay motivated and productive as an artist:
Build Systems - forget Goals.
Implement the 2-minute rule.
Lookout for Decisive Moments.
Create a Ritual.
Standardise before you optimise.
Plus, 1 bonus tip I will share with you at the end of this blog post.
Why Do We Need Strategies?
As a creative person, You probably have good intentions of creating every day, but then something comes up, or you don't feel inspired, and you miss a day or two, and then before you know it, a week (or a year!) has gone by, and you haven't created anything. So you start doubting yourself, wondering if you're really cut out for this creative life, and you begin to get discouraged or even think of giving up altogether.
Falling into the procrastination spiral happens because excitement and motivation are unreliable energy sources. They come and go, so you need to find something else to sustain you during the tough times. And that is why having a strategy like a daily habit or ritual you look forward to is so important. It will help you stay consistent no matter your mood or how your day is going, and it will get you through the days when you feel unmotivated or creatively blocked.
Once you start developing a habit for your creative work, your life will become more organised and structured. You'll be able to focus more on your projects and get them done more efficiently.
Plus, you'll start to see constant improvement in your skills and be able to produce better pieces of work. Lastly, you'll have more fun and enjoyment when doing it because you'll know that you're taking small steps forward every day.
This doesn't mean we have to force ourselves to always be in crunch mode and never take a break. It's essential to find a balance that allows us to have the output we need to achieve our goals while also enjoying the process and taking care of ourselves.
There will always be moments when we feel like we can't or don't want to create, but if we have a system or ritual in place, it'll be much easier to push through those moments and come out on the other side feeling accomplished and proud of ourselves without feeling overworked or overwhelmed.
Now let's dive into each strategy in more detail.
Build Systems Forget Goals
Motivation is overrated.
The first strategy is to build a system, not a goal. Not setting goals might sound counterintuitive because usually when we want to be consistent with something is because we have a goal in mind, like quitting your job and make art full-time or starting a YouTube channel, for example.
And while setting goals can be helpful, I have found that it is much more effective to build a system when it comes to creative endeavours. A system is something you can follow even when you don't feel inspired because it is not dependent on your mood or how you feel in the moment, but it becomes a habit that you can do on autopilot.
So over the years, I have been working as an artist. I developed a set workflow I go through every time I create a new illustration, which takes me all the way from brainstorming to the finished product. So even if I am not feeling inspired in the moment, I know that if I start with the first step of my workflow and follow it through, in the end, I will have an illustration that I am happy with. And usually, inspiration will come as I work through the system.
If you are interested in learning more about this, I have a free resource on my website that goes into detail about how to develop your own sketching workflow.
Implement The 2-Minute Rule
The second strategy is to implement the 2-minute rule. This rule is basically about starting small. The idea behind it is that if we can make it easy to begin our creative practice, it will be easier to keep going and do it every day.
So as the name suggests, we make a deal with ourselves that we will do the thing we want to do for just 2 minutes every day. So, if your goal is to write a book, you can start with just 2 minutes of writing every day, or if you want to draw for an hour every day, you can start with just 2 minutes of drawing.
And because you are asking yourselves such a small amount of effort. So you think it is only 2 minutes, I might as well do it. And once you start, you tend to want to keep going for longer than 2 minutes anyway. So it's a great way to ease yourself into your practice.
Also, if you are just not in the mood that day and only draw for 2 minutes, it's ok to stop because you can feel accomplished that you kept your promise to yourself and are still moving in the right direction. I tend to feel guilty if I don't do something I said I would do, and I find this strategy helps take away all that guilt and pressure we tend to put on ourselves.
Lookout For Decisive Moments
The third strategy is to be on the lookout for decisive moments. In his book, James Clear describes Decisive Moments as a fork in the road that either brings you to a productive or unproductive action.
For example, in the morning, when I start my work, I know that If I turn on my computer first, then I will most likely spend hours doing admin work and not get any artwork done. So for me, I know that If I want to be productive with my art that day, I need to start with my art supplies first, not the computer.
The same thing happens in the evening when I am usually pretty tired, I can choose to go to the living room after dinner, and I will probably end up watching tv or spending time on social media there, or I can choose to go to my home studio and work on a project I enjoy for 30 minutes or so.
And if I choose the latter, I know I will feel better because I will have accomplished something meaningful with my day instead of throwing away precious life points by scrolling on social media.
And as a cancer survivor, I can tell you that life is precious, and when you are sitting on the chemo chair, you don't wish you had spent more time on social media or watching movies. So these decisive moments are critical because they can shape the entire direction of your day and, ultimately, your life.
So my challenge to you is to start paying attention to these decisive moments in your life and see if you can consciously choose to do the productive thing instead of the unproductive one.
So be on the lookout for them!
Create A Ritual
The fourth step is to create a ritual around your habit - and make it comfortable and easy.
A ritual means creating a specific routine of actions you do every time before you start your creative practice, creating an enjoyable experience for yourself so that you actually look forward to doing your creative practice every day.
For example, I like to make myself some tea in my dedicated work mug, put on an audiobook or podcast, and then get started with my work. You can also make some healthy snacks or listen to music or anything else that gets you in the mood to be creative.
Our brain loves routine, so if you can establish a time and place for your creative practice, it will be much easier to stick to it because your brain will start to expect it and crave it every day at a specific time or when you see a particular cue, like filling up your work mug with tea or putting your headphones on, for example.
I like to have a dedicated desk where I do all my drawing work. I only have my drawing supplies and reference books on it, so there is no distraction, and every time I sit down at that desk, my brain knows it is time to be creative and get some drawings done.
Standardise Before You Optimise
The fifth and final strategy is to Standardise before you optimise. This next tip from Atomic habits has been so helpful for me, not just for drawing but for any habit I want to create. The idea behind it is that when starting a new habit, it is more important to do it consistently first rather than worrying about doing it perfectly or optimising your process.
So make it fun, and stay in your comfort zone at the beginning. I know that you probably want to improve your skills and create amazing pieces of art for your portfolio, but in the beginning, it is more important to focus on developing a consistent habit. And over time, you can improve and optimise your process as you get better at staying consistent.
Quit Before You Are Done
The final bonus tip is to stop when you know what you need to do next. I think a lot of the time that we struggle to stay consistent is when we hit a roadblock that we don't know how to solve. And so we procrastinate and put our projects off because it seems too difficult or painful to continue them.
At this point, imposter syndrome starts to kick in, and we start doubting ourselves. Self-doubt is a really dangerous state to be in because it can lead you to give up on your projects altogether, and it can make you think that you are not good enough to follow your dreams, so you stop nurturing your skills and miss out on the life you could have if you stick to it.
So, how do we solve this?
The key is, whenever possible, to stop when you know what you need to do next. There is a quote from Ernest Hemingway that says:
Stop when you know what happens next. The best way is always to stop when you are going good and when you know what will happen next. If you do that every day when you are writing a novel you will never be stuck.
Hemingway gives this advice to novelists, but I think it applies to all types of creative work. I take this advice to try my best to stop at the end of each session when I know what needs to be done next.
I know that it is difficult to stop when you are in the flow and you are feeling inspired, but trust me, it is worth it because it will be so much easier to start back up again the next day since you won't have that feeling of dread or anxiety about not knowing what to do.
Also, because your mind is engaged in the project in a good way after you stop, it will keep you thinking about it throughout the day and night, and you might even have a lightbulb moment on how to solve problems in the project or come up with new ideas you want to implement that will get you excited about getting back to work on it the next day.
So this strategy is especially useful for keeping your creative momentum going and the motivation high so you can stay consistent with your work.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed this article and found these tips helpful! If you struggle to stay motivated or consistent with your creative work, I encourage you to try these strategies and see how they work for you.
And remember, the key is to focus on small improvements and to build good habits rather than trying to be perfect. The more you can focus on taking consistent action and enjoying the process, the more likely you will stick with it and see success in your creative pursuits.
If you want to learn more about developing good habits, I highly recommend reading Atomic Habits by James Clear. It is one of the best books on the topic, it has helped me immensely in my own journey of creating better habits for myself and my business, and it can do the same for you.
So go out there and start building some good habits! And if you liked this article, please share it with others who might find it helpful, and leave a comment below to let me know your thoughts. Thank you for reading.
